Tab Out replaces your Chrome new tab page with a dashboard that shows everything you have open — grouped by domain, with landing pages (Gmail, X, LinkedIn, etc.) pulled into their own group for easy cleanup. Close tabs with a satisfying swoosh + confetti.
Built for people who open too many tabs and never close them.
- See all your tabs at a glance — grouped by domain on a clean grid, no more squinting at 30 tiny tab titles
- Landing pages group — homepages and feeds (Gmail, X, LinkedIn, GitHub, YouTube) are pulled into one card so you can close them all at once
- Close tabs with style — swoosh sound + confetti burst when you clean up a group. Makes tab hygiene feel rewarding
- Duplicate detection — flags when you have the same page open twice, with one-click cleanup
- Click any tab to jump to it — switches to the existing tab, even across windows
- Save for later — bookmark individual tabs to a checklist before closing them
- Dark mode — sun/moon toggle with a full dark palette, persists across sessions
- Google search — search bar built into the dashboard so you never need to open a blank tab
- Daily quote — rotating motivational quote below the search bar to start each day right
- Weather widget — current temperature and conditions in the header, no API key needed
- Pomodoro timer — 25/5 work-break timer in the header, survives tab closes
- Recently closed tabs — collapsible list of tabs you just closed, one click to reopen
- Drag-to-reorder quick links — rearrange your shortcut icons with drag and drop, order persists
- Expandable groups — large groups show the first 8 tabs with a clickable "+N more" to reveal the rest
- Auto-updates — get notified when a new version is available, update with one click
- 100% local — your browsing data never leaves your machine. No AI, no external API calls
- Always on — starts automatically when you log in, runs silently in the background
Send your coding agent (Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, etc.) this repo and say "install this":
https://github.com/markksantos/tab-out
The agent will explain what Tab Out does and set everything up. Takes about 2 minutes.
1. Clone and install
git clone https://github.com/markksantos/tab-out.git
cd tab-out
npm install2. Run the setup script
npm run install-serviceThis creates ~/.mission-control/, writes a default config, and installs an auto-start service for your platform (macOS Launch Agent, Linux systemd, or Windows Startup script).
3. Load the Chrome extension
- Go to
chrome://extensionsin Chrome - Enable Developer mode (top-right toggle)
- Click Load unpacked
- Select the
extension/folder from this repo
4. Start the server
npm startOpen a new tab — you'll see Tab Out. The server auto-starts on future logins.
Config lives at ~/.mission-control/config.json:
| Field | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|
port |
3456 |
Local port for the dashboard |
You open a new tab
-> Chrome extension loads Tab Out in an iframe
-> Dashboard shows your open tabs grouped by domain
-> Landing pages (Gmail, X, LinkedIn, etc.) get their own group at the top
-> You close groups you're done with (swoosh + confetti)
-> Repeat
The server runs silently in the background. It starts on login and restarts if it crashes. You never think about it.
| What | How |
|---|---|
| Server | Node.js + Express |
| Database | better-sqlite3 (local SQLite) |
| Extension | Chrome Manifest V3 |
| Auto-start | macOS Launch Agent / Linux systemd / Windows Startup |
| Sound | Web Audio API (synthesized, no files) |
| Animations | CSS transitions + JS confetti particles |
| Weather | wttr.in (no API key) |
MIT
Originally built by Zara. This fork adds dark mode, search, daily quotes, weather, pomodoro timer, recently closed tabs, and drag-to-reorder quick links.